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Thursday of the 12th Week after Trinity
Today’s Reading: Romans 10:9-17
Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; Philippians 4:1-23
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You can’t be a Christian without a pastor. That’s right. That’s what St. Paul says. How can you believe in Christ if He is not preached to you? Many of your friends may go to churches where the exact opposite is taught. “Faith is something personal that you discover on your own. It’s between you and Jesus.”
But that’s not how the Lord does things. He doesn’t give you life by spawning you in a forest and letting you grow up on your own. He gives you parents who provide for you. He doesn’t shower money on you out of the sky. He gives you a job and a boss so that you have what you need .
Just so, Christ does not expect us to fend for ourselves, figure Him out on our own and get some faith that way. No, He gives us a pastor, whose job is to preach and teach God’s Word. To put God’s Word into your ears. To baptize you and absolve you and feed you with Christ’s Body and Blood. You can’t get those things for yourself. The Lord provides them for you through the man He has called to give those gifts to you.
This is for your comfort. When your sins trouble you, that pastor whom Jesus has called will remind you of your Savior’s death on the cross, which takes away your sins. When you are troubled and need guidance, more than just “advice” the world would give, your pastor is there to counsel you and teach you what the Lord’s Word says, to strengthen you against the devil and your enemies. Indeed, your pastor, like your parents who gave you life and take care of you, is given to you by God to give you eternal life by giving you Jesus.
Most churches don’t make much of preachers. But preachers are the means by which the Lord comes to us with His gifts. They aren’t anything in themselves, but as they deliver Jesus faithfully and give out His forgiveness, pastors are essential—a gift from God for our salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The words which absolution give Are His who died that we might live; The minister whom Christ has sent Is but His humble instrument. (“As Surely as I Live,” God Said, LSB 614:5)
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By Higher Things®Today’s Reading: Romans 10:9-17
Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; Philippians 4:1-23
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You can’t be a Christian without a pastor. That’s right. That’s what St. Paul says. How can you believe in Christ if He is not preached to you? Many of your friends may go to churches where the exact opposite is taught. “Faith is something personal that you discover on your own. It’s between you and Jesus.”
But that’s not how the Lord does things. He doesn’t give you life by spawning you in a forest and letting you grow up on your own. He gives you parents who provide for you. He doesn’t shower money on you out of the sky. He gives you a job and a boss so that you have what you need .
Just so, Christ does not expect us to fend for ourselves, figure Him out on our own and get some faith that way. No, He gives us a pastor, whose job is to preach and teach God’s Word. To put God’s Word into your ears. To baptize you and absolve you and feed you with Christ’s Body and Blood. You can’t get those things for yourself. The Lord provides them for you through the man He has called to give those gifts to you.
This is for your comfort. When your sins trouble you, that pastor whom Jesus has called will remind you of your Savior’s death on the cross, which takes away your sins. When you are troubled and need guidance, more than just “advice” the world would give, your pastor is there to counsel you and teach you what the Lord’s Word says, to strengthen you against the devil and your enemies. Indeed, your pastor, like your parents who gave you life and take care of you, is given to you by God to give you eternal life by giving you Jesus.
Most churches don’t make much of preachers. But preachers are the means by which the Lord comes to us with His gifts. They aren’t anything in themselves, but as they deliver Jesus faithfully and give out His forgiveness, pastors are essential—a gift from God for our salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The words which absolution give Are His who died that we might live; The minister whom Christ has sent Is but His humble instrument. (“As Surely as I Live,” God Said, LSB 614:5)